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Matteo Saudino - BarbaSophia

Matteo Saudino, known as BarbaSophia, runs an Italian-language channel built on a conviction he states without hedging: to do philosophy is an act of rebellion. The author of books on the subject, among them Ribellarsi con filosofia and La filosofia non è una barba, he takes the philosophical tradition and sets it to work on the present, in short, frequent pieces that follow the rhythm of the news. The catalogue shows this plainly. There is direct political and social commentary: Italian foreign policy, the Catholic debate between an armed peace and a disarmed one, road safety understood as a political question, a proposed school ban on the burqa, the situation of migrants at Ceuta, the surveillance state, the West Bank, fuel prices: alongside pieces of cultural analysis such as a comparison between Homer's Ulysses and Nolan's, or a reading of the Telemachus complex. He also takes up episodes from Italian public life: a teacher placed under investigation for asking that Gaza not be forgotten, or the tenor of certain television debates. Visitors should know this is not a neutral channel. Saudino argues from a declared political position and does not disguise it: his titles are frequently pointed and his judgements explicit. What separates him from ordinary punditry is that the opinion rests on philosophical categories and on a teacher's habit of explaining before concluding. It is material for anyone who wants to see philosophy applied to the day's newspaper, with the advantages and the risks that carries; it is best read for what it is ( thought with a position ) rather than impartial reporting.